For three decades, TIP Strategies has witnessed—and helped shape—the transformation of economic development. Our early focus on business attraction evolved into a holistic approach to the practice that has ultimately positioned workforce at the center of sustainable regional prosperity. Looking back, we can trace the profession’s trajectory alongside our own, revealing a shift toward a nuanced understanding of talent as foundational to economic vitality. Like any look back, the story of where we’ve been requires a look at where we’re headed. As the field enters another period of change, economic and workforce development practitioners are once again being called to adapt.

A Future-Forward Approach

When TIP began as Texas International Partnership in 1995, the field centered on business attraction and site selection, often treating workforce as a secondary concern. At that time, we managed the Invest in Texas Alliance, a statewide foreign investment attraction consortium. By 1998, we had expanded into consulting, completing our first market studies focused on labor availability. But an inflection point came in the early 2000s when we transitioned the firm from a Texas-based site selection practice to a national consultancy focused on helping communities build thriving, sustainable economies.

This shift anticipated broader changes in the profession. Our work increasingly reflected the interconnected nature of real estate, jobs, technology, and talent—laying the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding of economic vitality that defines the field today.

Centering Workforce

By the early 2000s, we were incorporating talent, innovation, and place into our strategic planning as a matter of course. This approach recognized that long-term growth required more than just business attraction—it depended on cultivating a skilled workforce, fostering innovation, and strengthening communities. As shown in the graphic below, our signature Talent, Innovation, and Place methodology underscored workforce as a central driver of business investment and expansion.

The industry was catching up to what we had long observed. Economic success hinges on the ability to attract, retain, and develop talent. This understanding fueled the growth of our workforce practice, leading to projects that defined our role in this space and demonstrated the value of aligning workforce strategies with broader economic development goals. The following are a few highlights of our work.

• Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Led a TWC-funded statewide strategy for Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Rural Capital Area, and Alamo to help the public workforce system support Texas talent and economic growth.
• Greater Houston Partnership (TX). Developed a strategic plan focused on upskilling to address coordination, data, and occupational gaps during a period of energy-sector growth.
• Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (IL). Created a customizable and award-winning Job Quality and Access (JQA) tool to connect workers with quality jobs and inform inclusive economic growth strategies.
• Overland Park Chamber of Commerce (KS). Prepared a workforce strategy and customized JQA tool to measure accessibility and mobility, guiding investments in high-demand skills and employer partnerships.
• Business Leaders for Michigan. Crafted a stakeholder- and data-informed talent strategy to mitigate stagnant population growth across the state through cross-sector collaboration and alignment of resources.
• Upper Peninsula Collaborative Development Council (MI). Conducted a regional labor market study combining stakeholder input and quantitative analysis to help local leaders align workforce supply with employer demand and guide strategic investments across priority areas.
• Delaware Workforce System. Delivered a strategic operating framework and employer engagement for the Delaware Department of Labor to better align the state’s workforce board with its economic priorities.

The Future of Workforce

As federal policy shifts and global forces realign, practitioners are once again reexamining the workforce landscape. The challenges ahead will extend far beyond current federal cuts in workforce and federally funded programs—they will reverberate across multiple sectors and regions.

TIP is currently advising clients through a period of uncertainty shaped by several factors.

• Trade and economic policy shifts are altering the flow of goods, services, foreign direct investment, and employment demand with big implications for where and how companies grow.
• The impact of automation and emerging technologies—especially AI and machine learning—will require adaptability to grow talent pipelines that meet employer demand for increasingly specialized skills.
• Potential funding cuts for both direct training and essential wraparound support services such as housing, childcare, and transportation can jeopardize workers’ ability to enter and remain in the workforce.
• Immigration policy changes will affect labor supply across sectors, from the service industry to STEM research, and may undermine the country’s ability to compete in the global economy.
• Evolving definitions of job quality and employer responsibility are reshaping workforce standards amid growing public pressure and changing worker expectations.

Resilient communities that are best positioned to meet these disruptions will demonstrate a strong commitment to collaboration among those who represent job seekers and the organizations that connect them to employment. They will rely on quality real-time data to guide decisions and will be creative in securing and coordinating diverse funding sources for priority initiatives.

TIP has spent 30 years at the intersection of economic and workforce development. From our early days marketing Texas communities to international investors to our current engagements helping regions anticipate the future of work, we have been at the forefront of the profession. Workforce is no longer an afterthought; it is a cornerstone of economic success. Over the next 30 years, our role as a firm remains much the same. We are here to help communities create the conditions in which workers and businesses alike can thrive, even in the face of future uncertainties.